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I went to the LA Film Festival this past week and had a blast! First up, I went to the Whitewashing: Asian American panel with the most stacked guest from Kelly Hu (Scorpion King) to Kelvin Yu (Bob's Burger's) to Leonardo Nam (Westworld)! Then saw Lena Waithe of Master of None, drop some knowledge on how she writes such brilliant work aka be honest. And attended the world premiere screenings of Streetwear documentary, Built to Fail, Bruce Thierry Cheung's Don't Come Back from the Moon starring James Franco, and of course, the mind-blowing social media commentary film, Ingrid Goes West starring Aubrey Plaza! Even though I didn't catch as many films as I normally would've, every film and panel I attended to was the most insightful and enthralling! I can't wait to come back next year!

I never thought I would see the day when Sofia Coppola would direct a thriller but here we are with The Beguiled! This southern gothic story is set during the Civil War at a southern girl's boarding school. When one of the girls find a wounded soldier (Colin Farrell), they take him in and sexual tension starts brewing. Sofia Coppola crafts a razor sharp thriller that explores gender dynamics through the female gaze. The film is filled with atmospheric tension from start to finish especially with the music provided by Laura Karpman and Phoenix. The stunning cinematography by Philippe Le Sourd will leave you breathless and wanting more!

The Beguiled is a remake of the 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood and based on the novel by Thomas P. Cullinan. Sofia has been getting a lot of heat for removing a Black slave that was in the original film to focus on the gender dynamics instead of the race relations. But I don't see why it wouldn't have worked if it did so well in the original film but that's Sofia Coppola for you. Regardless of everything, I quite enjoyed it and I'm sure it will get some Oscar nominations! After all, she did win the Best Director award at Cannes this year!

What would LA be without its streetwear culture? Built to Fail is a documentary by The Hundred's co-founder, Bobby Hundreds, as he takes a journey to define and document one of the most elusive fashion phenomena of our times, Streetwear. With interviews by Russell Simmons, A$AP Rocky, Benny Gold, and so many more, we get an insider's look at the history of streetwear and it's current state right now.

Truth be told, I would've never known about The Hundreds if it wasn't for my ex-boyfriend's obsessive passion for the streetwear culture. And I'm better for it because it's a culture that is so engrained in Los Angeles, a place I'm proud to call my home. I can't to see the film at its premiere at LA Film Fest this weekend! See ya all there!

I don't talk about Superhero movies that often but when I do, it's because it looks as good as Ryan Coogler's Black Panther! The story follows T'Challa who returns home to the isolated and technilogically advanced African nation to succeed the throne after his father, the King of Wakanda dies. This film has the most stacked cast I've seen, starting with Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and so many more! I got even more excited to learn that Black Panther will be coming out February 16, 2018 aka Black History Month! Oh, I can't wait!

This is the age-old question I've wondered about before going to film school. Safe to say that sometimes, you won't know the answer till you actually do it. Especially when it comes to film school, it depends on what field in film you want to pursue that will really determine if your education will be worthwhile. I share my experience and the pros and cons of going to film school, no matter how good or expensive it is. Ultimately, I don't regret it but there have been tons of people who have succeeded, with or without it.

Wonder Woman is not only the best DC film ever (because that doesn't say much) but a great Superhero film! As this is the first Wonder Woman film to ever exist so naturally the film focuses on her origin story. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, Princess of the Amazons and trained warrior. When a pilot (Pine) crashes offshore of the Amazon island of Themyscira and tells Diana about the war in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and destiny.

Director Patty Jenkins did a magnificent job at crafting unforgettable action sequences, three-dimensional characters, and a powerful story about hope. Even though it's a superhero film, it feels very different than the ones we're used to seeing, it's better. There is more compassion, humanity, and love in this story which is why Wonder Woman is exactly the kind of film we need to see in the world right now. I'm so beyond proud to finally see a female superhero in her own film, kicking ass and taking names! Wonder Woman 2 can't come out soon enough!

May was a super busy month! I was working on various film sets, attending Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and celebrating my Birthday, hence why I tuned into more Netflix shows than films. Aziz Ansari's Master of None, Season 2 finally came out and it was one hell of a season that surely revolutionized episodic television. Next up, I wanted to see what the hype was all about with cult-favorite, Twin Peaks. It's as creepy as any David Lynch film and I have no idea when I'll have the guts to finish season 2! Last but not least, Hasan Minhaj's comedy special, Homecoming King has got to be one of the most poignant and powerful stand-up shows I've ever seen. Netflix is killin it! What were your May Favorites?

The Safdie Bros' of Heaven Knows What (See Trailer) are back with another drug-fueled & intensely brutal story called Good Time. It's about a brother's dangerous quest to get his brother out of jail after a botched robbery. It brings me incredible joy to see Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart alike, reinvent themselves after the Twilight Saga. By the looks of the trailer, we're going to see a side of Pattinson, we've never seen before. The film got raving reviews at Cannes and naturally, A24 picked it up alongside Sean Baker's The Florida Project. Good Time comes out August 11th!

I adore everything Bong Joon-ho has done since Barking Dogs Never Bite and I didn't expect anything less in his latest film, Okja! I knew it would most likely have a political message, young female lead, and possibly a large creature in the film but never in my wildest dreams did I expect something like this. Maybe because Bong's films are usually grim compared to the dream-like and effervescent-ness of Okja but it looks refreshing and I'm excited. Netflix will drop the film June 28th but hopefully we can catch it on the big screen as well because by the looks of it, it's going to be downright beautiful.

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So Yun Um is a ryde or die chick living the ultimate #filmlyfe in The City of Angels. She runs So's Reel Thoughts (duh) which highlights international, independent, and genre films. She writes a bi-weekly column called Badass Femmes for Crome Yellow & is the creator of the #GirlTalkSeries. She programs for LA Festivals and is part of the Women Film Critics Circle.